Christiane Amanpour, who parlayed a job as a news assistant on CNN‘s foreign desk into a years-long globe-trotting assignment for the news giant, plans to step away from the media company in June.
“After many months of thought and a few sleepless nights, I have decided to separate from CNN, my partner of 43 fantastic years!” Amanpour said in a statement Monday. She added that she “looks forward to interesting new projects down the line, and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism. Remember: always be truthful, not neutral.”
Amanpour’s exit is announced just as CNN comes under the control of a new owner, Skydance, which is grappling with billions of dollars in debt and perceptions that it may want to skew its news operations toward a particular view on politics and other issues. In May, Amanpour said at an event that she was “concerned” about Skydance’s management of CBS News, which has come under intense scrutiny after the installation of a provocative digital entrepreneur, Bari Weiss, as its editor in chief. “I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say about a corporate thing that’s under way, but I am obviously, as a person, as a journalist with a record, concerned,” Amanpour said at the time.
Amanpour, 68 years old, has hosted both an evening program for CNN’s international channel since 2009 and a show for PBS, “Amanpour & Company,” since 2017. She left CNN briefly for an ill-fated run at ABC News, where she was named moderator of the Sunday program, “The Week,” in 2010. Low ratings undermined her efforts there, and she returned to CNN in 2012.
“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,” said Mark Thompson, CEO of CNN, in a statement. “Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but I’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.”
CNN employs many journalists, correspondents and anchors, but few of them are as tied to the news outlet’s overall brand as Amanpour. Perhaps only Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper enjoy similar status among present staffers. After securing a role in eastern Europe in 1986, she made a reputation for herself by covering conflicts in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. From 1992 to 2010, she worked as CNN’s chief international correspondent.
“I will end my daily shows across CNN and PBS at the end of this year, while continuing to maintain a weekly show on CNN through May and working on a smooth transition through June,” Amanpour said in her note Monday. She indicated that she expects to continue working on an independent podcast, “Ex-Files,” which she leads along with her ex-husband, Jamie Rubin, former official at the U.S. State Department.
